


Swelter

by missema



Series: Kirkwall Tech [7]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Kirkwall (Dragon Age), Kirkwall Tech, Kissing, Storms, Summer, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 16:59:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7181378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missema/pseuds/missema
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fortunes are changing in Kirkwall. School's out for the summer, and it's the last one before Melissa Hawke and Sebastian start their senior year at Kirkwall Tech. Caught in an early summer storm, the two of them wind up drenched and with much to discuss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swelter

Kirkwall was always oppressive in the summer heat. Each year it sneaked up on Melissa, one day it would be beautiful and lush and spring with a cooling breeze and the next it would be full on summer, blistering hot with stagnant, humid air. Maker, the heat had been the reason she’d moved out of Gamlen’s place. At least the air flowed and cooled off at night where she was now. Back then it had gotten trapped in the between the old brick walls of his building, making it worse when night fell and offered no relief.  
  
The lukewarm spray of the shower slid over her, washing away a day of work from her skin. It was Friday, and she was going to stop in and see if her Mother and Bethany were home. Maybe call Sebastian afterwards and see if he’d managed to get all of his things moved. She smiled at the thought of him, water cascading over her. Ducking her head under the spray of water again, she started to wash her hair, carefully measuring out just enough of the expensive ‘super glossy’ shampoo that managed to live up to its name.

Summer came on fast for Melissa. It seemed like a whirlwind after spring break, all the way through her finals. The weather got hot and humid just in the last week of class, making studying for her finals miserable. Most of the buildings on campus didn’t have air conditioning. It made for a difficult finals week, trying to force her mind to concentrate through the sticky humidity and heat, when no one wanted to be taking the test. Luckily, she’d only had to take two finals this time around.

It was with some relief that she escaped school for the break. She wasn't employed by Athenril's sort of shady antiques store this summer, but had a paid internship at an insurance company. Melissa wasn’t too clear on everything she’d be doing, but at least they were paying her for the ten weeks she’d be working for the summer. She started next week, and had spent her last day at the antiques shop crawling around Athenril’s storage room looking for a bunch of old items on a list. That place was boring without Bethany around any longer, and she was dusty from doing all the digging that Bethany used to take on, in addition to running her deliveries, hence, the shower.

As she lathered her hair, she thought of Sebastian. Things were going surprisingly well with him. Surprising only to her, perhaps, but Melissa wasn’t sure of herself in relationships. Her last, well, to say it ended poorly was an understatement, but at least the farce of hiding from her ex at a party had brought her and Sebastian together. Rising her hair with her eyes closed, she thought back. They’d been together for most of the spring semester, she realized with a jolt. How had time passed so quickly?

Through the bleary haze of sudsy water, she found the matching conditioner for her shampoo and held it in her hand as she made sure the water from her head ran clear. Blow drying her hair in this muggy, oppressive heat was inadvisable, but she didn’t have much choice. Flat-ironing it would take too long, and she had places to go, Sebastian to catch up with. His job for the summer was working for the Viscount in the Department of Public Works. Working under a Professional Engineer, he was taking steps towards getting his own licensure and making it a certainty that he’d be offered a job after graduation in a year. Maker, it was only a year away now, and here she was daydreaming about her boyfriend with shampoo in her eyes.

Melissa quickly finished up her business and got out of the shower, mentally preparing herself for the hike down to Lowtown in the humid weather. After she got out and blow dried her hair on half heat, brushing it into a shiny, flat stream with her round brush, she left to check in on her family. They were still in Lowtown, but slowly but surely, her Mother and sister were saving towards a place of their own. Carver sent money back to them every month now, and she knew that got added to the fund.

They heard from Carver, but only in the briefest of letters. Mostly, he just sent money directly to Bethany’s account at the bank, ensuring that their uncle couldn’t touch it and wouldn’t know it was there. Carver was doing well, but didn’t give them any specifics on whether he would be back in Kirkwall or be able to visit. Of all of them, Melissa expected Mother to take it the hardest, but she didn’t; Bethany did. She was missing her twin something fierce, alternating between being proud of Carver and angry at him.

Melissa walked slowly through the city, making sure to take time to stop and text Sebastian. He didn’t answer, but she hadn’t expected him to, not until later. He worked longer hours than she did, at least for the moment. Next week when she started at Mientras — the insurance company where she’d be interning as an actuary — she would work a similar daily schedule to Sebastian, with her evenings free. That reminded her to pick up her suits from the dry cleaners. The dress code was much more stringent at her company than at most, business professional every day except for casual Fridays.

When she got to Gamlen’s house, the windows were thrown wide in hopes of coaxing in a breeze that didn’t exist, but there was no noise coming from the inside. Resting a hand on her forehead to create some shade for her eyes, she could see that there were no lights on inside the house either. Frowning, Melissa took out her key and opened the door.

“Mother, are you here?” Melissa called out as she entered Gamlen’s apartment. “Hello? Bethany?”

Gamlen wasn’t in, because if he was he’d be right in the front room, roosting in the chair he never left until it was time to sleep. Melissa wasn’t sure where her uncle would be at the moment. Probably off someplace wasting what little money he had. Oh well, at least he was only wasting his money these days. She looked around the apartment, and heard the fan blowing in the bedroom that her mother and Bethany shared.

“Sorry, darling, I was napping to get away from this heat,” her mother said, getting up from the bed just as Melissa poked her head around the door. “I wasn’t expecting you until later, and I was up late filling orders.”

“Orders? More seamstress work?”

“No, not really. I was sewing but,” her mother gave her a wide, proud smile as she went on, “Bethany and I opened a store online. I’ve been making costumes of all things, for people who want to dress up for conventions and the like,” her mother explained.

“Really? Mother, that’s wonderful!”

Leandra smile didn’t dim as she began stretching her arms overhead and massaging her forearms. They must ache after all that work, especially if any of it needed hand stitching. She looked tired, but happier than Melissa had seen her in some time, since before Carver had left. There was always worry on her face, but it had relaxed somewhat.

“Can I help at all?” Melissa asked. Her sewing skills weren’t as fine as her mother or Bethany’s, but she did pretty well making dresses. Pants however, she never quite got the fit right.

“No, no, darling. You’re working at the insurance place in Hightown aren’t you? Don’t bother yourself with this. The orders aren’t consistent yet, but they are fun. I was worried we’d make only enough to cover the materials, but Bethany has it all set up so we make a profit. She even models them and has pictures taken,” Leandra said.

“Wow, I’m really impressed. How are you getting the orders? Are you going to the library?”

“No, that’s another thing. Bethany’s new job, the one that requires her to go to school,” Leandra began, waiting for Melissa to nod before she went on, “well, the school discount program had used laptops for people just starting out. She could have leased a new one, but we decided that she could do that next semester, if we got too busy to share one. Right now it’s working out fine, we aren’t so busy that I need to be on it all the time.”

Melissa beamed at her mother, filled with pride at the ingenuity of her mother and sister. Things had been so precarious after Carver left, with Bethany barely working for Athenril, but it seemed that they were finally picking up the pieces and moving on.

“Do you still need rent money?” Melissa asked, and Leandra grimaced.

“Not this month, but the orders fluctuate. If I had a steady stream of business, I could put some away, but you know how it is. We’re never sure what to make next.”

“It’s always good to go historical. Beautiful corsets can sell for good amounts,” Melissa told her.

“Is that so? I hadn’t thought of doing corsetry. That was in style when I was younger, but different then, waist cinchers and the like. I remember wanting a merry widow for my trousseau,” Leandra mused, looking at a spot over Melissa’s shoulder. She wondered if her mother ever even got her trousseau — probably not. It’s not as if her grandparents mailed it to her when she eloped.

“You should talk about it with Bethany. She might have a better idea than I,” Melissa admitted. Her undergarments were nothing special most of the time, except for the few things she brought out when she thought Sebastian might spend the night. They hadn’t has sex, not yet, but he had just stayed the night a few times. She liked sleeping next to him, feeling his arms wrapped around her, and the way that Sebastian always made her bed for her in the morning.

The thought flitted across her mind that maybe she should make something pretty for herself, but she dismissed it. She didn’t have a sewing machine or the patience to learn to make underwear. Sewing with lace was a bitch at the best of times, and for what it cost, she could just buy new underwear and bras.

Maybe she would with the money she got from her first paycheck at the insurance company. She would definitely need to buy at least one more suit and a casual Friday dress anyway, so why not pretty, lacy things as well? They were going to pay her a third of the starting salary for her work this summer. It was more than she’d ever made before, even when working two jobs full time. It felt unfair, that this was coming to her after her family had struggled and been split up, but she wasn’t going to turn any good fortune away just because she resented the timing.

Leandra got up, and showed Melissa what she was working on the night before, a long, deep sapphire colored cape with gold embroidery down the edges. It looked like an old mages robe, and she was sure that Bethany had come up with the inspiration for it. It was absolutely beautiful, and worth every sovereign they charged. When she left, it was with the real hope that her family just might start to be okay, at least for a little while.

#

Sebastian was moving his stuff from the his old downstairs rooms to the largest room bedroom in the house. A small move really, but he had been elected President of the Kirkwall Society of Engineers. Damn if he wasn’t absolutely pleased about it, even if he did have to haul all of his beat up furniture up the stairs to the new, large bedroom. The worst wasn’t even the bed, but the desk and his books. He needed to grab some guys from downstairs to help him get it all up the stairs, and they managed to chip the desk and break the keyboard tray. He’d have to see about repairing it later, when he had more time.

There was always someone staying in the house over the summer, and Sebastian was usually one of them. He never went home, because he hadn’t been allowed, though his first year had stayed at the Kirkwall Chantry for the summer. Even now, he wasn’t sure he was able to go back to Starkhaven, though he and his father had made some inroads to a good relationship. In any case, he had his job with the Kirkwall Public Works Department, and he rather liked working in his field. Every day he worked from 7am until 3pm, mostly helping to manage the many civil repair projects that took place over the summertime. Home was here, as was his job, and with his election to president before the summer break, there was no reason not to take up his duties right away.

Today he’d been able to leave just after lunch for an early start to his weekend. Whenever he worked onsite, they let him go early. No one worked a full day out in the summer heat, especially not the people doing the heavy work. He hadn’t done heavy work, but at lunch his shift ended after a half day working on solving a drainage problem on the roads. Sebastian used the time to make the move from his old room to the presidential suite, as it was called. Really, it was one big room that used to be two smaller bedrooms, with its own bathroom ensuite. That was the part that made it desirable, and hence, presidential.

But this afternoon when he’d gone up to the presidential suite, he noticed that without the elaborate furnishings of the last president to hide them, the walls were decidedly in need of a new coat of paint. The whole room needed cleaning, but he started with the walls and the floors, so he could go on and give it a new coat of white paint. After using the paint sprayer, taking two showers and letting it dry while he napped, he started moving his things.

Once he got his clothes up to the room, Sebastian realized that the only usable closet in the room had been converted into a bar, the door taken off to make room for the recessed cabinet that sat in it. The cabinet, as it was, was the nicest piece of furniture in the room, and it was built into the walls. Flipping on the light switch near the closet turned on three track lights on the ceiling, and revealed a mirrored wall behind the liquor cabinet. There were still half-empty bottles stacked neatly on the shelves, and he picked one up, impressed that it wasn’t completely terrible brands. As impressed as he was, he was still annoyed, because now he’d need to get another dresser for all of his clothes. It was late afternoon when he was finished, just in time to get a text from Lissa.

“Went to see Mother after work. At farmers market now. Busy? Want something?”

Sebastian looked at the things he had that needed to be unpacked, the mattress with just a fitted sheet over it and no pillows. Then he replied to her, “I can meet you there.”

He slipped on a fresh shirt, cracked the window so the last of the faint smell of paint would drift out and left, heading away from campus and back into the city. It didn’t take long for him to get there, and he found her easily. Melissa’s long, lean legs caught his eye, because he didn’t often see her in shorts. But there she was in shorts and a plain white tee, smiling as she paid for a container of strawberries with a coin, carefully putting them in the bag that hung at her side. Sebastian cursed himself for forgetting to bring a bag, though it wasn’t likely they’d need another. The market was closing down for the day, and though Sebastian had seen Melissa, he didn’t go over to her.

A quick detour to the flower seller, and Sebastian had a bouquet of wildflowers, neatly wrapped in burlap to give her. When he found her again, she was buying a jar of jam. He sidled up next to her, and Melissa turned to give him a smile.

“Hey, you made it. I thought I’d start heading your way if I didn’t see you soon. It’s going to rain,” she said, pointing up at the sky.

“These are for you, Lissa,” Sebastian said, handing her the flowers.

She smiled at them as she sniffed the small bouquet, then smiled back up at him again. Behind them, a line formed and remembering that she was still in front of the jam stall, started to move away, taking his hand.

“Do you have everything you need?” he asked. She was right about the sky, it was turning darker and more grey as he spoke, clouds growing more dense overhead.

“Yes, I think so. I just stopped on a whim to get berries, nothing special. Did you work today?”

“I did, but got out early to move my things. Wound up painting the whole damn room. I might do the bathroom tomorrow,” he said.

They walked, heading back the way he came, still holding hands. When they got around the corner from the farmer’s market, waiting to cross the street, Melissa stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. Sebastian turned his head, smiling at the unexpected kiss. He leaned in to give her another kiss, planning on it being longer, but the light turned and she broke away from him with a gentle press to his chest with the hand that still held his bouquet.

They cut through the maze of buildings and narrow lanes that would lead them back to campus, both of them heading towards his room by unspoken agreement. He could hook up his computer and they’d watch something, probably order food. It would be a good night, just the two of them.

A loud rumble of quaking thunder was the only warning they got before the sky opened and drenched the two of them within seconds. Rain pelted down, creating small stings as it hit his shoulders and head. They were still holding hands, now running from the street to the next alleyway, where the buildings might provide a little shelter. They were in luck — a doorway on the side of one of the buildings had an awning over it, and they stopped there to catch their breath.

“Give me your phone,” Melissa said.

He dug his out of his pocket as she took out hers, and opening the bag she had the farmer’s market, took out a plastic bag from inside of it. She wrapped both phones in it, then stuck it deep within the bag. The flowers went in next, atop the berries and jam and whatever else she’d picked up before he’d gotten to the market. Sebastian wasn’t paying attention to where she put his phone, however, because her hair was stuck to the side of her face, down her shoulders and just brushing the tops of her breasts in a shirt made sheer by the water. He could just make out the outline of a dark nipple through her bra, which must have also been white.

The rain poured down around them, with no sign of letting up. Thunder crashed overhead again, and a streak of lightning painted the sky with color for a split second before it was gone. Rain dripped through a hole in the awning, but as Sebastian leaned in to kiss Melissa, none of that registered. His lips met hers and felt her surprise turn into heat as her mouth opened to his. Her fingers twisted in his wet hair, sending water down his already drenched back, as he pressed her to the door with a hip. It rattled as they bumped against it, a chain locking it on the other side. The wet canvas bag glanced off his side as he came in closer, an arm around her waist. Sebastian’s lips traveled down to kiss her chin, her neck, sweeping away the tendrils of her wet hair from her heated skin as his lips traveled lower.

Then as the lightning flashed once more, Sebastian leaned down and kissed her collarbone, heat filling him. Her wet breasts brushed up against his chest, and he could feel her hard nipples, cold from the rain. Leaning further down, he suckled one through the flimsy cotton of her shirt, hearing Melissa gasp as he tongued the bead through her clothes. He moved to the other, her hand hooked around his neck, urging him on. He flicked the nipple, now almost completely visible, and felt the rasp of cotton and the outline of lace with his tongue. Without a thought, he moved back to the other, and felt her head hit the door with a soft thump. His fingers played at the waistband of her shorts, ready to undo the button with a flick of his practiced hand. They shouldn’t, but he wanted her so much, and there was no one else about as the rain poured on around them. He sucked harder, drawing a soft cry from her.

“Sebastian,” she whispered, neediness evident in her tone. Oh, he’d wanted to hear her say his name like that, in just that tone for a very long time.

But he remembered himself with her whisper, recalled all the promises and things he said he’d never do again. Instead of carrying on with this unseemly public display, giving in the urges that originated directly from his rock hard cock, he took up her hand once more.

“Forgive me, Melissa. We should keep going, the rain won’t stop.”

She nodded, and after a moment to right herself and the bag slung over her shoulder, they exited the awning.

#

Just steps from the house of the Kirkwall Society of Engineers, Sebastian took off his shirt and offered it to her. For a moment, she was confused, then she remembered the alleyway. It was his shirt, the one with ‘Choir Boy’ across the back and KSE on the front, and just as soaked as her clothes, but she slipped it on anyway. They ran the rest of the way, Sebastian bare from the waist up as he unlocked the door and let them in.

“Choir Boy, why are you shirtless?” a voice called as they came in, Melissa still shrouded in the dark of the doorway so that only the half-naked Sebastian was visible. A tv blared a car dealership commercial in the background and was quickly silenced.

She walked forward, shivering in his wet shirt, and the voice gained a face. He took one look at them and then walked off, coming back to throw Sebastian a towel. His sodden shirt was too big for her, weighed down as she dripped onto the entry carpet.

“Here,” he called as he tossed the towel, and Sebastian nodded.

“Thanks, Elfroot,” Sebastian said. He toweled his face off, and his hair, then handed it to her.

“Come on, we’ll go to my room. I can wash your clothes, give you a shirt to wear.”

“Do you have a blow dryer?” Melissa asked, thinking of the time she’d wasted this afternoon, all the work that had been undone.

“Someone probably does,” he said. “I can ask around.”

They were awkwardly polite to each other as they both shucked their wet clothes, she in the bathroom, and he in his room. This wasn’t the room she’d visited before, but he had said that he was moving. It didn’t look much like a suite to her, but the bathroom helped. Sebastian handed her a clean shirt through the door without coming in. What had she done wrong? They’d finally been getting physical, even if it was in an alley during a storm, but then he’d just stopped. Not that she thought they were going to do it there, but Melissa had hoped some of the kissing might continue once they got back to his room.

She came out of the bathroom, dressed in only her underwear and the shirt he’d handed her. The air was cold, but she’d forgotten that the KSE house had air conditioning. It made her shiver. Sebastian was completely dry, wearing a new pair of shorts and another shirt, one that celebrated a day of community service participation from two years back. His back was to her, so she spoke up.

“Can I hang my bra to dry over your shower?” she asked, though she’d already done it. Her wet clothes she’d left folded on the bathroom counter, along with his shirt.

“Sure, if you don’t want to put it with the wash.”

“They get ruined if you aren’t careful. I’ll just leave it to air dry.”

“All right. I found you a hair dryer,” Sebastian said, still not quite looking at her.

“Do you have a brush I can use?”

He clattered around in a box and then pulled out a leather dopp bag with his initials on it. From within, he extracted a brush and handed it to her. It wasn’t round, but it would do.  
  
“Do you want pants?” he asked, and without waiting for an answer, rummaged around in another box until he came out with a pair of sweatpants. They had a drawstring waist but were far too long for her. She put them on anyway, freezing in the air conditioning. Her wet hair wasn’t helping matters, so she picked up the brush and blow dryer, intent on hair drying as a means of restoring her warmth.

She started back towards the bathroom, but Sebastian stopped her with a hand on her wrist. She followed his arm up to look at his face, meeting his eyes for the first time since they’d gotten back to the house. He looked anguished, angry, sad, but Melissa wasn’t sure why. What had happened between them in the alley, well, it wasn’t her first choice of places, but it wasn’t that bad. They’d stopped before anyone had seen them, and the feeling her his lips on her, she couldn’t quite bring herself to regret that.

“Lissa, I’m sorry about how I acted back in that alley. I shouldn’t have kissed you like that in public.”

“I didn’t mind,” she said, but he stopped her.

“I did. It wasn’t how.” He stopped and ran a hand through his damp hair. “You know about my past, the way I let my desires nearly destroy those I cared for.” He shook his head and started again. “What I mean is that, I’ve never been in a real relationship before, and I don’t want to ruin it. I’ve done that so many times before, actually counted on sex to ruin what might have become a relationship. I just don’t want that to happen between us.”

“Do I get a say in this?” Melissa asked, an eyebrow raised.

“By all means,” he said.

“I want you too. What we did back there, I wanted that, I want to be with you. But if you don’t want to have sex, then let’s set limits.”

“I do want to have sex, Melissa. I just want to wait, if that’s okay with you. Can you wait until I’m ready?”

She reached out and hugged him. He was warm and mostly dry, and smelled like his aftershave, sort of woodsy, with a hint of spearmint. He was solid and familiar and felt like he needed her hug. Melissa felt him sigh as she cradled his head in one hand. Maker, he was still hurting, and as much as she wanted to get into bed with him, she knew it wasn’t the right time. She could wait. They could, until they were both ready.

“I can wait,” she whispered, and this time, his answering sigh held relief. When they broke apart, Melissa gave him a small smile.

“The rain let up finally. Think we can get some delivery?” she asked, her voice lighter than she felt.

“Certainly. You want to dry your hair and I’ll make the call?”

“Find a movie too,” she told him, stepping back into the bathroom. Then she spotted the pile of wet clothes and handed them to him. “These probably should be washed soon. I don’t think I had anything in my pockets, and I put the phones on the box near the door. They should be dry. I hope the berries made it.”

“I’ll check. What do you want to eat?” he asked, smiling at her. Just like that, they were back to normal— playful, bantering normal — ready for a night in together.


End file.
